Tag: Nuristan

Pakistan | Indigenous polytheistic Kalash tribe under threat from Islamic extremism
Asia, National, World

Pakistan | Indigenous polytheistic Kalash tribe under threat from Islamic extremism

The smallest ethnic and Dharmic community in Pakistan is fighting for the survival of its culture and religious identity, in the face of religious extremism, forced conversion, migration, and climate change. Are we going to allow this rich culture to vanish from the pluralistic land of Akhand Bharat? Who are the Kalash? The term ‘Kalash’ is used to refer to many distinct people including the Väi, the Čima-nišei, the Vântä, plus the Ashkun- and Tregami-speakers. The Kalash are considered to be an indigenous people of Asia, with their ancestors migrating to Chitral valley from another location possibly further south, which the Kalash call “Tsiyam” in their folk songs and epics. Some of the Kalash traditions consider the various Kalash people to have been migrants or refugees. The...